The present invention relates generally to devices and techniques used in gall bladder surgery and more particularly to a method and device for performing a cholangiography at the time of gall bladder surgery, to assure that no stones from the gall bladder are retained in the bile ducts and related structures.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that an important part of gall bladder surgery is cholangiography, which involves the injection of dye into the bile ducts at the time of surgery to assure that no stones from the gall bladder have passed into the bile ducts. After injection of a dye, an x-ray is taken. The developed x-ray outlines the bile ducts, thereby showing any stone or other abnormalities that need to be removed or corrected in the course of the surgical procedure.
Historically, when open surgery is performed, cholangiography is accomplished by inserting a plastic tube or catheter into the cystic duct which connects the gall bladder to the bile duct. This same method is currently being used in conjunction with laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Unfortunately, threading a catheter through a long hollow tube and into a cystic duct which is 3-4 mm in diameter is very difficult and technically frustrating, because of the size, bad angle, and catheter flexibility. The use of a rigid catheter will not work because it will not pass through the curved course. External support of the flexible catheter with a hollow metal tube has also failed to work satisfactorily.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was offered as an improvement to open surgery. Using this surgical technique, the gall bladder is removed by use of four 0.5 to 1.0 cm sized round metal tubes into the abdomen instead of an open surgical incision. A tube inserted through the navel carries a visualizing lens or laparoscope and camera that is connected to a video monitor, providing a picture of an internal view of the abdomen. Using long, narrow instruments inserted through three other small holes along the right upper part of the abdomen, the surgeon dissects and identifies the cystic duct which connects the gall bladder to the common bile duct. The surgeon also dissects and identifies the cystic artery. The cystic duct and artery are clipped and divided. The gall bladder is then removed, along with the contained stones. The surgical procedure appears to be quite successful, and patients can leave the hospital in a day instead of the four or five days required for recovery from open surgery. Patients can also return to work in as little as a week, instead of the four to six weeks of recovery required after open surgery.
A prior art method of performing a cholangiography is to clamp the gall bladder. A metal clip is then placed around the ampulla also known as the Hartman's Pouch or the infundibulum to prevent stones from flowing through the ampulla to the bile duct and to reduce leakage of bile from the gall bladder. Another metal tube is then placed into the abdomen. This metal tube directs a catheter into the cystic duct, between the ampulla and the common bile duct, after a small opening is cut into the cystic duct. Unfortunately, this method requires clamping, encircling, application of a different tube carrying the catheter, and placement of the dye into the cystic duct.
What is needed, then, is an improved method and device for performing a cholangiography. This needed method and device must allow the surgeon to prevent gall stones from exiting the gall bladder during cholecystectomy. This needed method and device must provide a rigid channel through which a needle can be directed, so that dye can be applied into the ampulla also known as the Hartman's Pouch or the infundibulum of the gall bladder. This method and device is presently lacking in the prior art.